The Ongoing Catfight

To me, being a woman (can I call myself one now? what’s the age requirement?), especially one of honor is someone that uplifts other women. Fortunately, I am lucky enough to have many women like this in my life, but quite honestly people like them are a rarity. We as a society have a long way to go before all women can work together. Although we hate to admit it or think we are progressively getting better at it, women are always pitted against each other. Whether it’s social media or real life, it seems as if there’s always a competition among us where only one can win. I was talking to my mom about this the other day, and she shared some gossip that encompasses the ongoing catfight perfectly. For those who don’t know she works in real estate, and not to blow her trumpet, but I am proud of her, so I will say it as it is. She is incredibly successful at it and I am in awe of her every day. When she and I moved to California 5 years ago, she started working for a new brokerage in Palo Alto. Within a few months of working my mom was already closing deals left and right, even surpassing some co-workers that were a lot more experienced in the market. As her numbers went up, so did the jealousy around the workplace. She recalls one woman in particular, and since my mom still works there, I will rename her Laura. Laura hated the fact that my mother was doing better than her, so she tried to steal some of my mom’s deals. Once that didn’t work, she resorted to bad-mouthing my mother all around the office. Her continuous attempts to strip my mom of her hard work failed, but it comes to show the immediate reaction that follows when a woman is prospering in life. Instead of admiring her success and using that to fuel our ambition, we try to take theirs away in hopes that we will flourish. Honestly, if talking down on someone else is the main goal of a conversation, then I want nothing to do with it. As soon as we feel threatened by another person’s presence our claws come out, and we are ready to fight. It’s exactly like a cat, when we’re scared or feel insecure in our current positions, we attack. I have said it before, but women are powerful on their own, and when we fight against each other we give men more power over us. Imagine the world we would live in if we didn’t fight amongst each other, and fought WITH each other. Anyways meow (haha). Good Afternoon to everyone except Laura, you suck.

- With love, Fiza Usman